Issues you can face when working with virtual bookkeeper

When you are dealing with a bookkeeper thousands of miles away, clearly there are chances of certain things going wrong. But, why do we mention them here and run the risk of not getting your business? Two reasons,

First - we want to be absolutely transparent about potential issues

Second - we already have proven solutions for these issues

Even, if a completely new issue comes up, by being open and transparent about it and working together we can find a solution. Now, let us look at some of the issues and solutions.

Scanning of paper documents

This is the most important issue when using virtual bookkeepers. If you are already aware of how easy it is to scan, or have the data in a spreadsheet/pdf then you can skip and go to the next point. But for many businesses, the receipts and documents still stay as papers. Converting them as pdf's to send to the virtual bookkeeper may sound like a tiresome task.

This is a genuine concern because, scanning used to be a very time-consuming task even until a few years ago. But scanning technology has changed very quickly and even small desktop scanners can scan more than 30 pages per minute and accept papers of various sizes. They are very affordable and prices start from around $300.

All you have to do is, stack up the receipts/bank statements in the in-tray and press a button. Your papers are instantly converted into pdf file and stored in your computer. We also have some videos in our help section, which shows the ease of scanning papers. If you are still not sure about doing it yourself, you can use a scanning company such as ShoeBoxed, and we can get your information from their Website.

Data protection & security

We do not employ freelancers or work from home individuals. All our virtual bookkeepers work from our highly secure office in India. Our offices are secure during storage and transmission. Our high security servers are located in USA. Our offices have physical security guards. Access to work area is restricted by finger print systems. You can find more information about data security here or write to us and we will provide specific details about our data protection measures.

Communication and language barrier

There is a genuine concern that you may not be able to communicate well with a bookkeeper who works from a location 1000's of miles away. We are very aware of this and that is why we only employ virtual bookkeepers who are very comfortable in spoken and written English. You can communicate directly with them by email, instant message or talk to them over phone.

Apart from their language skills, they have several years of experience and trained with US bookkeeping requirements. Our selection process is tough and all our people have to pass through them before becoming a virtual bookkeeper.

Cultural differences

Our virtual bookkeepers are from India. Our clients are from the west. Two vastly different cultures. How do we bridge the cultural gap? Wait a second. Do we really have to bridge the gap?

We train our staff to about Western culture and expectations. We don't go as far as changing the names and faking the accent. We believe our training is adequate and our staff are smart enough. And for you as a client, it can be quite fascinating to work with real smart and hard working people from different backgrounds and the possibility of discovering a new culture!

Now that we have discussed all possible issues, let us put it this way to summarize and move forward – We all know that book keeping is a simple task and all that is required is reasonable knowledge and an eye for detail. We will definitely ensure both of these.